Umesh Yadav registers career-best First-class figures: The Vidarbha fast bowler was on fire in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.
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During the first semi-final of the ongoing Ranji Trophy between Kerala and Vidarbha at Wayanad, Vidarbha fast bowler Umesh Yadav ran through the Kerala batting order as he registered his career-best First-class figures.
After making early inroads into the hosts’ batting lineup, Yadav didn’t provide any respite to them, picking up four wickets in his first spell. Failing to cope up against Yadav’s skills, Kerala lost half their side at the score of 40.
Yadav also made sure that he didn’t let opposition tail wag, adding unnecessary runs towards the end. Dismissing all-rounder Jajaj Saxena (7) and pacer-duo of Basil Thampi (10) and Sandeep Warrier (0) aided Yadav to pick up his second seven-wicket haul in First-class cricket.
Rajneesh Gurbani, Yadav’s new-ball opening partner, dismissed pacer MD Nidheesh (6) as Kerala were bundled out for 106 in 28.4 overs. Vishnu Vinod, who came in to bat at No. 7, top-scored for his team scoring 37* (50) with the help of one four and two sixes.
With bowling figures of 12-1-48-7, Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors. With bowling figures of 11.4-3-38-3, Gurbani provided impressive support from the other end to the senior pacer.
Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal scored his 36th First-class half-century as his team ended the day with a 65-run lead. In the 45 overs which Vidarbha played till Stumps on Day 1, they scored 171-5. Fazal remained their top-scorer after scoring 75 (142) with the help of 13 fours.
Vidharbha’s innings also saw veteran India batsman Wasim Jaffer completing 1,000 runs in this reason of Ranji Trophy. The 40-year old right-hand batsman has become only the first batsman to achieve the feat twice in his career.
Having picked up nine wickets in the previous match against Uttarakhand at Nagpur, Yadav has now 16 wickets in three innings under his belt. In a recent interview with Sportstar, Yadav had pointed out limited opportunities in limited-overs cricket for India in the recent times. The 31-year old fast bowler would be relieved to back his words with consistent performance in domestic cricket.
